Scottish Executive

Central Heating

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating systems have been installed under its central heating installation programme to date in (a) local authority, (b) housing association and (c) private sector properties, broken down by the most appropriate geographical division available.

Hugh Henry: A breakdown of (a) local authority; (b) housing association, and (c) private sector houses that have been improved under the central heating programme is set out in the following tables. The table for local authorities shows the position for 2001-02 only. Information on local authority stock benefiting from the programme in 2002-03 to date is not yet available.

  Local Authority Stock

  


Local Authority 
  

Number of Council Houses Improved 
  



Aberdeen 
  

83 
  



Angus 
  

6 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

28 
  



Dundee City 
  

604 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

133 
  



East Dunbarton 
  

8 
  



East Renfrew 
  

61 
  



Edinburgh 
  

140 
  



Fife 
  

319 
  



Glasgow 
  

1,352 
  



Highland 
  

24 
  



Inverclyde 
  

84 
  



Midlothian 
  

21 
  



Orkney 
  

60 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

121 
  



Shetland 
  

28 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

863 
  



West Dunbarton 
  

72 
  



Total 
  

4,007 
  



  Housing Association Stock from 2001-02 to 24 September 2002

  


Local Authority Area 
  

Number of Housing Association Houses Improved 
  



Angus 
  

6 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

15 
  



City of Dundee 
  

248 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

113 
  



City of Glasgow 
  

552 
  



Falkirk 
  

96 
  



Inverclyde and 
  

22 
  



North Lanarkshire and 
  

31 
  



Shetland 
  

29 
  



Stirling 
  

19 
  



Total 
  

1,131 
  



  Private Sector from 2001-02 to 24 September 2002

  


Post Code Area 
  

Number of Housing Private Sector Houses 
  Improved 
  



AB - Aberdeenshire 
  

255 
  



DD - Tayside 
  

663 
  



DG - Dumfries and Galloway 
  

112 
  



EH - Lothian 
  

987 
  



FK - Stirlingshire 
  

87 
  



G - Glasgow 
  

1,681 
  



HS - Western Isles 
  

84 
  



IV - Highland 
  

87 
  



KA - Ayrshire 
  

292 
  



KW - Orkney 
  

54 
  



KY - Fife 
  

201 
  



ML - Lanarkshire 
  

122 
  



PA - Renfrewshire and Argyll 
  

410 
  



PH - Perthshire 
  

98 
  



TD - Borders 
  

41 
  



ZE - Shetland 
  

5 
  



Total 
  

5,179

Central Heating

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in each local authority area (a) made an application to and (b) received assistance from the central heating installation programme in each year since the programme started.

Hugh Henry: I cannot answer (a). Firstly, because local authority and housing association tenants do not apply to take part in the central heating programme: eligible households are identified by their landlords who also arrange the schedule of works. Secondly, because details of the programme as administered by Eaga are not collected on a local authority basis. As regards (b), I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29435 today, which gives the number of central heating systems installed across all sectors of the stock since the programme began. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, what new senior civil service posts were created during 2001-02.

Mr Andy Kerr: Nine new posts at head of division level were created during 2001-02.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, what the duties were, or are, of the pool members recruited prior to vacancies occurring.

Mr Andy Kerr: Pool members took up head of division appointments and became employees as and when posts became available. Their duties were those of the posts they were assigned to.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, why 19 pool members were recruited before vacancies occurred.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is standard human resource practice to have people ready to fill vacancies as they occur. The people making up the pool were recruited to create a ready source to meet demand. They were appointed and became employees only at the point they took up post.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many of the senior civil service appointments were for head of division posts.

Mr Andy Kerr: Of the 28 people recruited, 27 were appointed at head of division and one at head of department. These are detailed in Appendix A of Civil Service Commissioners annual report 2001-02.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many senior civil servants (a) retired, (b) left and (c) were promoted during 2001-02.

Mr Andy Kerr: Six senior civil servants (SCS) retired, two left and 18 were promoted to SCS posts via a generic open recruitment campaign.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many of the senior civil service appointments were recruited from (a) external and (b) internal sources.

Mr Andy Kerr: Of the 28 senior civil servants recruited during 2001-02, 18 were from internal sources and 10 from external.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many heads of division changed posts in each year since May 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The numbers of senior civil service heads of division who have changed post since May 1999 in the Scottish Executive core departments is as follows:

  


Year 
  

Count 
  



May 1999 to March 2000 
  

6 
  



April 2000 to March 2001 
  

17 
  



April 2001 to March 2002 
  

10

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many of the 28 senior civil service appointments were made through open competition.

Mr Andy Kerr: Twenty-eight appointments were made through open competition.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, why it expected that 19 senior civil servants would be needed during the period January 2002 to June 2003.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive estimated that 19 senior civil servants would be needed between January 2002 and June 2003 to cover supply and demand. This estimate was arrived at following discussion with senior management and took into account retirals plus potential leavers and new posts.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, how many senior civil servants it expects to recruit during 2002-03.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of senior civil service recruits needed in 2002-03 has not yet been determined.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28989 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 September 2002, whether any of the 28 senior civil servants were recruited from civil service departments outwith the Scottish Executive.

Mr Andy Kerr: One senior civil servant was recruited from a civil service department outwith the Scottish Executive.

Culture

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to encourage all families to speak English in their homes and what the reason is for its position on the matter.

Ms Margaret Curran: We have no such plans. This is a matter for individuals.

Culture

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to target 3 in the tourism, culture and sport section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys , whether it will define "under-represented groups" and how many people from such groups are currently estimated to be participating in cultural and sporting activity.

Dr Elaine Murray: Technical Notes setting out the detail for each target in Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys will be available shortly. The Technical Notes will include information on definitions, who will gather the data, how the data will be gathered, the time period covered, trends, baseline data, and milestones.

  Under Target 3 for Tourism, Culture and Sport, the definition of under-represented groups includes: children (under 16 years old), young people (16 to 24 years old), disabled people, people from minority ethnic communities, women, older people (over 65), people living in rural areas, socially excluded people. Different under-represented groups are target priorities for different cultural organisations.

Dental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS dentists can be paid for preventative treatment methods as well as for carrying out repair treatment.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: All the care and treatment required to secure and maintain the oral health of a patient is available and remunerated under NHS general dental service arrangements. For children, dentists receive a capitation fee for each child registered with them under NHS arrangements. This fee covers preventive treatment, advice and attention required by the child. In addition, dentists receive an enhancement of the capitation fee for each child aged zero to two years, each child aged three to five years in Depcat 6 and 7 areas, and each child aged six to seven years, registered with them under NHS arrangements. This enhancement is for the provision of a preventive programme including dietary advice. For those aged six and seven the enhanced fee includes the application of fissure sealants. For adults this includes payment for preventive treatments such as instruction in the prevention of dental disease, scaling and polishing, application of fissure sealant and the application of topical fluoride in certain circumstances.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of Education Action Plan funding; whether it will give any examples of how such funding is used; which local authorities have received such funding in each year since the funding was introduced, and what level of funding was received in each case.

Cathy Jamieson: The Education Action Plan programme came to an end on 31 March 2002. The purpose of the funding was to provide additional time-limited support to help education authorities to raise standards in schools facing major challenge.

  A total of £14.1 million was made available over the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2002. Following a bidding process, funding over the three-year period was offered to 16 authorities. East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Renfrewshire and South Ayrshire Councils each received £100,000 per year; Aberdeenshire, East Lothian, Fife, Inverclyde, Perth and Kinross and West Lothian Councils each received £200,000 per year; North Lanarkshire Council received £300,000 per year; Aberdeen City, Dundee City, City of Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire Councils each received £500,000 per year, and Glasgow City Council received £800,000 per year.

  The funding has been used in a variety of ways. These include providing behaviour support bases and pupil support teams; developing alternative curriculum provision; enhancing early intervention programmes; improving in-service training in relation to discipline; extending use of information and communication technology, and establishing partnerships with parents.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29008 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 September 2002, how many of these patients were admitted to hospital.

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29008 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 September 2002, how many of the patients attended by (a) an accident and emergency ambulance and (b) the cardiac response unit received clot-busting drugs.

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29008 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 September 2002, what factors determine whether the rapid/cardiac response unit or an accident and emergency ambulance is sent to a patient suffering from chest pains.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Ambulance Service will deploy whichever resource is nearest to the patient suffering from chest pains, whether that is the cardiac response unit (CRU) or one of the accident and emergency ambulances with the thrombolytic capability. Where the CRU is deployed, a back-up accident and emergency ambulance will also attend, to transport the patient to hospital once the CRU has assessed the patient’s condition and administered any appropriate treatment.

  The CRU is not a 24-hour resource, and is only operational during peak times which have been identified through the analysis of relevant clinical data. If the service receives a call about a patient with chest pains when the CRU is not in operation - or when it is attending to another patient - one of the accident and emergency ambulances with the thrombolytic capability will be deployed.

  Over the period covered in question S1W-29008 (1 June 2002 to 31 August 2002), of the 76 patients attended to by the CRU, 11 received clot-busting drugs. Of the 47 attended to by an accident and emergency ambulance, two received clot-busting drugs. All 123 patients were admitted to hospital in compliance with ambulance service policy to transport to hospital all patients suffering from chest pains.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-29004 and S1W-29008 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 September 2002, whether the rapid/cardiac response unit is part of the community thrombolysis service.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) is a key component of the Community Thrombolysis Service. The RRU is permanently on-call for patients living north of Forfar.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29004 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 September 2002, what functions and responsibilities are fulfilled by the community thrombolysis service and how the same functions and responsibilities are fulfilled in the east, west and south Angus areas.

Malcolm Chisholm: For patients living north of Forfar a dedicated Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and an ambulance respond to an emergency call where the patient has a suspected heart attack. Clinical assessment and ECG recordings are taken and transmitted by telemedicine link to Ninewells accident and emergency. A senior clinician at Ninewells accident and emergency analyses the ECG recordings and advises the Scottish Ambulance Service personnel whether or not to administer a thrombolytic agent. Following thrombolysis the patient is transferred by ambulance to Ninewells allowing the RRU to remain in Angus.

  For patients living south of Forfar a "scoop and run" service operates whereby patients are taken immediately by ambulance to Ninewells. The different services ensure that Clinical Standards Board for Scotland standards for "door to needle time" are achieved throughout the whole of Angus.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the 30-day survival rates are for patients with addresses in Angus being admitted to the cardiac care unit at Ninewells Hospital and administered with clot-busting drugs.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29002 on 19 September 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what clot-busting drugs are used by the Angus community thrombolysis service.

Malcolm Chisholm: The clot-busting drug used is tenectaplase.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds there are at the cardiac care unit at Ninewells Hospital currently and how many such beds there have been in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are nine beds in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at Ninewells. This has been the bed complement over the last five years. Following closure of the CCU at Stracathro the service at Ninewells has been supplemented by the introduction of a five-bedded Cardiac Step Down Unit.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of stay is for patients at the cardiac care unit at Ninewells Hospital currently and in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The average length of stay in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at Ninewells over the last five years was as follows :

  


2001-02 
  

2.4 days 
  



2000-01 
  

2.3 days 
  



1999-2000 
  

2.4 days 
  



1998-99 
  

2.3 days 
  



1997-98 
  

2.3 days 
  



  In the period April to August 2002 the average length of stay in the nine-bedded CCU at Ninewells has reduced to 1.9 days as appropriate patients are now "stepped down" to a six-bedded Cardiac Step Down Unit and ultimately to a cardiology ward in carefully managed steps.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what alterations have been made to the cardiac care unit at Ninewells Hospital in order to help cope with any increased number of patients following the closure of the coronary care unit at Stracathro Hospital in Angus.

Malcolm Chisholm: Following closure of the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at Stracathro the nine-bedded CCU in Ninewells was supplemented by the addition of a six-bedded Cardiac Step Down Unit (CSDU). The CSDU allows appropriate patients to "step down" in a staged process from the CCU to a cardiology ward. Wards 1 and 2 at Ninewells have also been designated as predominantly cardiology wards.

Health

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what local health care co-operatives are located in each parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on local health care co-operatives is available on the SHOW website (www.show.scot.nhs.uk) and from NHS boards.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) breaches of conditions and (b) positive test results under drug testing and treatment orders issued by the (i) courts and (ii) pilot drug court there have been in each year since the orders were introduced and what action has been taken as a result of such breaches and positive test results.

Dr Richard Simpson: Information on the number of breaches of drug testing and treatment orders (DTTO) in the three pilot areas is detailed in the following table. This information is currently not available on a year by year basis.

  

 

Orders Made 
(Non-Drug Court) 
  

Breached 
  

Orders Made 
(Drug Court) 
  

Breached 
  

Total Made 
  

Total Breached 
  



Glasgow 
  

192 
(from October 1999) 
  

49 
  

59 
(from November 2001) 
  

3 
  

241 
  

52 
  



Fife 
  

127
(from July 2000) 
  

17 
  

4 
(from August 2002) 
  

0 
  

131 
  

17 
  



Aberdeen/
Aberdeenshire (from 12-01) 
  

42
(from December 2001) 
  

8* 
  
 
 

42 
  

8* 
  



  Note:

  *Includes one order breached twice.

  For those orders breached, the following table details the action taken in each case:

  


 


Order Revoked and Imprisoned 
  

Order Revoked and Substitute Probation Order 
  Imposed 
  

Order Revoked and Warrant to Apprehend Issued 
  

Order Continued 
  

Revoked and No Further Action 
  

Outcome Still Pending 
  

Other 
  

Total 
  



Glasgow 
  

14 
  

4 
  

 


 


 


29 
  

5* 
  

52 
  



Fife 
  

5 
  

3 
  

4 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 

3+


17 
  



Aberdeen 
  

3 
  
 
 

2 
  
 
 

2#


7 
  



  Notes:

  *Five orders revoked and offender admonished (in the context of the offender having re-offended and receiving a further custodial sentence).

  + Three orders deferred, reassessed and offender placed on DTTO.

  # Two cases currently remanded for sentencing.

  Data on positive test results is not held centrally. However, given the nature of addiction, and the fact that the DTTO is not a total abstinence order, it is expected that offenders subject to the order are likely to continue to produce positive results for some time after commencing treatment.

  All test results are included in the report submitted to court by the supervising officer at the four-weekly review hearings. Sentencers in reviewing the offender’s progress as part of the review hearing process will consider any positive test result within the context of the offender’s overall circumstances and the appropriate action to be taken.

  An evaluation of the DTTO pilots including information on breach rates and test results was published on 3 October.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent on combating drugs, broken down by purpose such as education, detection, treatment, rehabilitation, in each year since 1997-98 and what the spending will be in each year to 2005-06.

Dr Richard Simpson: Expenditure on tackling drug misuse spans a variety of funding streams, administered by a wide range of organisations. The Executive does not hold all of this information centrally.

  At the end of 1999, however, the Executive's Policy Unit Review of Drugs Expenditure, which is available at http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/PUDrugExpenRev.htm, estimated that £141 million was spent per annum on tackling drugs - around £22.64 million on prevention, £53.77 million on treatment and rehabilitation, and £65.09 million on enforcement.

  In 2001-02, additional funding of £128.3 million over three years was made available for anti-drug measures. This included a £100 million funding package, announced in September 2000, allocated as follows:

  


Area of Spend 
  

2001-02
(£ million) 
  

2002-03
(£ million) 
  

2003-04
(£ million) 
  

Totals
(£ million) 
  



Treatment 
  

2 
  

4 
  

4 
  

10 
  



Rehabilitation 
  

6.8 
  

6.8 
  

6.8 
  

20.4 
  



Training 
  

0.2 
  

0.2 
  

0.2 
  

0.6 
  



Prisons 
  

2.0 
  

4 
  

4 
  

10 
  



Training and Employment Bridges 
  

1.5 
  

2.5 
  

2.5 
  

6.5 
  



Community Disposals 
  

2 
  

3.5 
  

4 
  

9.5 
  



Young people and families 
  

4 
  

6 
  

8 
  

18 
  



Schools Education 
  

1.0 
  

1.0 
  

1.0 
  

3.0 
  



Youth Crime 
  

0.0 
  

0.5 
  

0.5 
  

1 
  



Public awareness 
  

2.1 
  

2.1 
  

2.1 
  

6.3 
  



Scotland Against Drugs 
  

1.5 
  

1.5 
  

1.5 
  

4.5 
  



Social Inclusion Partnerships 
  

- 
  

2 
  

3 
  

5 
  



Research 
  

0.666 
  

0.666 
  

0.666 
  

1.998 
  



Local structures, 
  

0.6 
  

0.6 
  

0.6 
  

1.8 
  



Management information and systems 
  

0.5 
  

0.5 
  

0.5 
  

1.5 
  



Total 
  

24.866 
  

35.866 
  

39.366 
  

100.098 
  



  The balance of £28.3 million, which was announced in July 2001, was distributed as follows:

  


Area of Spend 
  

2001-02
(£ million) 
  

2002-03
(£ million) 
  

2003-04
(£ million) 
  

Totals
(£ million) 
  



Enforcement 
  

1.9 
  

4.2 
  

6.702 
  

12.802 
  



Pilot Drug Courts etc 
  

0.2 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2.2 
  



Community Safety 
  

 - 
  

0.75 
  

0.75 
  

1.5 
  



Treatment 
  

0.9 
  

1.3 
  

1.1 
  

3.3 
  



Scottish Communities Against Drugs 
  

0.5 
  

 - 
  

 - 
  

0.5 
  



Children's Projects 
  

0.5 
  

0.75 
  

0.75 
  

2 
  



Crown Office 
  

2 
  

2 
  

2 
  

6 
  



Total 
  

6 
  

10 
  

12.302 
  

28.302 
  



  Decisions on expenditure in future years to 2005-06 will be made shortly, in the context of the 2002 Spending Review.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what sentences for drug dealing offences (a) have been handed down by the courts and (b) have been served in each year since 1997-98.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information on sentences given by the courts for drug dealing offences is given in Table 1.

  Table 1: Persons Sentenced by Scottish Courts for Drug Dealing Offences1, 1997-2000

  


Main sentence 
  

Calendar year 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  



Total 
  

1,621 
  

1,627 
  

1,559 
  

1,284 
  



Custody 
  

821 
  

780 
  

729 
  

617 
  



Community sentence 
  

463 
  

519 
  

541 
  

425 
  



Monetary penalty 
  

275 
  

271 
  

248 
  

204 
  



Other sentence 
  

62 
  

57 
  

41 
  

38 
  



  Note:

  1. Persons whose main offence was one of "drug dealing", defined as all drug offences except illegal possession.

  Information on the sentence lengths of those received into custody for drugs dealing is given in Table 2:

  Table 2: Direct Sentence Receptions to Penal Establishments of People Sentenced for Drug Dealing1 by Sentence Length, 1997-2001

  


Sentence Length 
  

Calendar Year 
  



1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Total 
  

795 
  

767 
  

758 
  

677 
  

801 
  



Under 3 months 
  

43 
  

34 
  

30 
  

12 
  

21 
  



3 months to less than 6 months 
  

173 
  

153 
  

159 
  

108 
  

112 
  



6 to less than 18 months 
  

240 
  

248 
  

195 
  

189 
  

260 
  



18 months to less than 2 years 
  

40 
  

45 
  

36 
  

44 
  

52 
  



2 years to less than 4 years 
  

126 
  

151 
  

172 
  

166 
  

160 
  



4 years and over 
  

173 
  

136 
  

166 
  

158 
  

196 
  



  Note:

  1. Persons whose main offence was one of "drug dealing", defined as all drug offences except illegal possession.

Justice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Lord Advocate's Working Group on Child Witness Support.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Child Witness Support Implementation Group was set up in September 2001 to take forward implementation, and established three multi-agency sub groups to develop different aspects of the work. In the light of their reports we are today launching a package for consultation. The package comprises papers on the following:

  The Establishment of a Child Witness Support Service

  Interviewing Child Witnesses in Scotland

  Code of Practice on the Provision of Therapy to Child Witnesses prior to Criminal Trials and Children’s Hearing Court Proceedings

  Conduct of Child Witness Court Familiarisation Visits

  Information about Young Witnesses to Inform Decision-making in the Legal Process

  Questioning of Children in Court

  The implementation group aims to review these documents in the light of responses, which are requested by 31 January 2003, and to complete its work by spring 2003.

  Copies have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24508).

Local Government

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister has any plans to visit the Falkirk Council area on 1 October 2002 and, if so, for what purpose.

Mr Jack McConnell: No.

Mental Health

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29610 by Mr Andy Kerr on 24 September 2002, why that answer stated that a White Paper had been consulted upon; whether this statement was factually accurate, and whether it intends to propose the introduction of similar practices operated by Her Majesty's Government in the future.

Peter Peacock: The reply given to question S1W-29610 referred to the White Paper Renewing Local Democracy: the Next Steps which sets out the Executive response to the issues of governance raised by McIntosh and Kerley. The paper was published for a four-month consultation period on 29 March in line with Executive’s good practice guide on consultation.

Planning

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it has postponed by 28 days its consideration of the planning application by Aberdeen Football Club for a new football stadium and other facilities at Kingswells.

Hugh Henry: An extension to the assessment period has been necessary to allow further detailed consideration of the complex planning issues associated with this case.

Planning

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it has not directed that a public local inquiry be held into the planning application by Aberdeen Football Club for a new football stadium and other facilities at Kingswells, given that it did so for a smaller but similar application for East Middlefield Kingswells (P/PP/75/96/GA/18) on 11 July 2001.

Hugh Henry: This planning application is still under consideration by the Scottish ministers. The circumstances of the application at East Middlefield Farm were not identical to those of the football stadium application although I am aware that consideration of that case was extended for a second period of 28 days before a decision was reached.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28787 by Mr Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002, what specific evidence it can provide to the public that its contract with Medacs for medical services in prisons provides best value if it will not publish the cost of the contract for medical services.

Mr Jim Wallace: The award of contract was conducted in accordance with EC procurement guidelines. The team who undertook the work demonstrated within the Scottish Prison Service that the Medacs proposal was the most economically advantageous proposal in terms of quality and costs.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how frequently it has to renegotiate its contract for the services of GPs in the Scottish Prison Service.

Mr Jim Wallace: There is no set frequency. The current contract exists for five years.

Racism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of ministers is in changing attitudes in order to combat racism.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that ministers’ use of language helps to combat racism.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive takes the view that ministers should provide national leadership for tackling racism across Scotland and as such should promote through their policies, behaviour and attitudes commensurate with that aim.

Racism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to combat racism.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to combat racism against asylum seekers.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to combat racism against refugees.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive launched a high profile anti-racism campaign on 24 September which received cross-party support during Parliament’s debate on racism on 26 September. The campaign is founded on practical action by the Executive, often in partnership with the public and voluntary sectors to tackle racism and discrimination. This campaign will build on work which is on-going across the Executive and beyond and will assist in the implementation of the Race Relations Amendment Act.

Racism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any impact that recent comments made by the Home Secretary to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee may have on its campaign against racist attitudes.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any impact that recent comments made by the Home Secretary to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee may have on combating racism against asylum seekers.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any impact that recent comments made by the Home Secretary to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee may have on combating racism against refugees.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the recent comments made by the Home Secretary to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee may have on its core message against racism that "racist behaviour is unacceptable. It’s not just about physical violence, it’s also about our language and attitudes", as detailed in its press release SESJ058/2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive’s Anti-Racism Campaign confronts and challenges all racist behaviour throughout Scotland, whatever form it takes and whichever community it is aimed at, regardless of its motivation.

Social Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish Closing the Opportunity Gap , as referred to by the Minister for Social Justice in her speech at the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice on 13 September 2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive today published Closing the Opportunity Gap: Scottish Budget for 2003-2006 , copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Sport

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide full details of the major new sporting facility announced by the Minister for Finance and Public Services in his ministerial statement on the Spending Review 2002 on 12 September 2002.

Dr Elaine Murray: We are not yet in a position to give details at this stage. We look forward to considering a report soon from consultants commissioned by  sportscotland to review their property portfolio and examine the scope for developing a new national centre in partnership with other bodies. There is a clear need for more indoor training facilities in Scotland for a number of sports and the announcement was an indication of our commitment to meeting this need.

Sport

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many indoor tennis facilities are managed by each local authority and what the average hourly cost is of hiring such facilities.

Dr Elaine Murray: The City of Aberdeen Council has four indoor courts, the City of Edinburgh Council has six indoor courts, Glasgow City Council has eight indoor courts at Scotstoun Leisure Centre and four indoor courts at Gorbals Leisure Centre, and East Dunbartonshire Council has two indoor courts.

  The hourly standard charges for each are set out in the table.

  


 


£ 
  



Aberdeen Indoor Tennis Centre (City of Aberdeen) 
  



Adult Peak Winter 
  

16.75 
  



Adult Off Peak Winter 
  

13.40 
  



Adult Walk On Winter 
  

8.65 
  



Adult Peak Summer 
  

13.65 
  



Adult Off Peak Summer 
  

10.70 
  



Adult Walk On Summer 
  

8.65 
  



Junior Peak Winter 
  

9.40 
  



Junior Off Peak Winter 
  

6.95 
  



Junior Walk On Winter 
  

5.85 
  



Junior Peak Summer 
  

7.45 
  



Junior Off Peak Summer 
  

5.35 
  



Junior Walk On Summer 
  

4.35 
  



Family Peak Winter 
  

13.30 
  



Family Off Peak Winter 
  

10.20 
  



Family Walk On Winter 
  

7.25 
  



Family Peak Summer 
  

10.60 
  



Family Off Peak Summer 
  

7.85 
  



Family Walk On Summer 
  

6.50 
  



Craiglockhart Sports and Tennis Centre (City 
  of Edinburgh) 
  



Adult Member Peak 
  

14.00 
  



Junior Member Peak 
  

9.00 
  



Non-Member Peak 
  

16.00 
  



Adult Member Off Peak 
  

9.00 
  



Junior Member Off Peak 
  

9.00 
  



Non-Member Off Peak 
  

13.60 
  



Scotstoun Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) 
  



Adult Advance Booking 
  

11.25 
  



Concession Advance Booking 
  

7.55 
  



Adult Walk-On Rate 
  

5.85 
  



Concession Walk-On Rate 
  

4.05 
  



Gorbals Leisure Centre (City of Glasgow) 
  



Adult Winter Rate 
  

12.50 
  



Concession Winter Rate 
  

7.55 
  



Adult Summer Rate 
  

11.00 
  



Concession Summer Rate 
  

6.50 
  



Allander Sports Complex (East Dunbartonshire) 
  



Adults 
  

7.75 
  



Concessions 
  

5.00 
  



  The City of Aberdeen Council also has discounted rates for holders of its Access To Leisure card.

Sport

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it currently provides for the promotion and development of women's sport.

Dr Elaine Murray: The national strategy for sport, Sport 21 , has a target to increase the participation of women in sport.

  Sportscotland are represented on the UK Co-ordinating Group for Women in Sport. This group has the aim of forming a collective strategy for changing sporting culture in the UK for women and girls. Research will be done to gather statistical evidence which will help Scotland (and other UK countries) identify what needs to be done.

  Sportscotland are currently supporting the following projects with specific women in sport targets: Jogscotland; the Scottish Football Association’s women and girls football, and the Talented Athletes Programme (since June 2001, 45% of funding has gone to female athletes).

Statistics

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in compiling comprehensive economic and social data in respect of each electoral ward.

Mr Andy Kerr: The statistical service of the Scottish Executive is developing a range of small area information through the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics (SNS) project. This is a major project aimed at significantly increasing and improving the availability, quality and fit for purpose of economic and social data across Scotland. The work is being taken forward in consultation with key data owners and providers across the public sector with the aim of giving users within and outwith government free access to information via a web-based dissemination system.

  The initial dissemination system is planned for spring 2003 and will provide users with data for a range of pre-defined geographies including postcode sector and ward. However, the main focus of the work is to deliver by April 2004, a comprehensive range of information and to provide users with a wider range of data at an even smaller area level, which they will be able to aggregate into the actual geographic areas they require for their specific policy development, service delivery or analytical needs. This will include wards. Users will be able to access data for specific subject areas, but more importantly will be able to use the full range of data to provide context and background.

Teachers

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have taken early retirement in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: The table shows how many teachers have retired early from the Scottish Teachers’ Superannuation Scheme.

  


Year 
  

Premature
(under 60) 
  

Ill-health 
  



1995-96 
  

1,071 
  

467 
  



1996-97 
  

1,277 
  

424 
  



1997-98 
  

2,183 
  

435 
  



1998-99 
  

464 
  

367 
  



1999-2000 
  

423 
  

367 
  



2000-01 
  

300 
  

323 
  



2001-02 
  

178 
  

267

Telecommunications

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry in regard to the routine testing of mobile phone mast emissions.

Hugh Henry: No. Information about the mobile phone base station audit being conducted by the Radiocommunications Agency (of the Department of Trade and Industry) is available on their website at www.radio.gov.uk.

Warm Deal

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in each local authority area (a) made an application to and (b) received assistance from the Warm Deal scheme administered by Eaga Partnerships (Scotland) in each year since the scheme started.

Hugh Henry: Information on the Warm Deal as administered by local authorities is collected by authorities on a local authority basis, as set out in my answer to question S1W-29847 today. However, information on the Warm Deal as administered by Eaga is not collected by local authority area.

  Details of the total number of households benefiting from the Warm Deal as administered by Eaga is set out in two reports to Parliament: Benefits from Home Energy Efficiency Schemes in Scotland: 1999/2000 and Benefits from the Warm Deal in Scotland: 2000/2001. Copies of both reports are in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. A report on the Warm Deal, and the central heating programme, for 2001-02 will be published later this year.

Warm Deal

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in each local authority area (a) made an application to and (b) received assistance from the Warm Deal scheme administered by local authorities in each year since the scheme started.

Hugh Henry: Local authority tenants are not required to apply for a grant under the Warm Deal as administered by their landlords. The authorities identify the dwellings which can benefit from the Warm Deal and arrange the programmes of work. The new Warm Deal was introduced in 1999. The number of tenants who have benefited from the scheme since its introduction and the end of financial year 2001-02 is as set out in the following table:

  The Warm Deal for Local Authorities 1999-2000 to 2001-02

  


Council 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen 
  

672 
  

672 
  

256 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

925 
  

1,001 
  

1,405 
  



Angus 
  

580 
  

720 
  

817 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

433 
  

1,174 
  

730 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

636 
  

632 
  

324 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

398 
  

469 
  

492 
  



Dundee City 
  

496 
  

550 
  

534 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

887 
  

1,148 
  

421 
  



East Dunbarton 
  

261 
  

1,164 
  

859 
  



East Lothian 
  

343 
  

367 
  

333 
  



East Renfrew 
  

274 
  

209 
  

145 
  



Edinburgh 
  

800 
  

779 
  

570 
  



Falkirk 
  

694 
  

535 
  

187 
  



Fife 
  

2,787 
  

741 
  

915 
  



Glasgow City 
  

2,809 
  

3,128 
  

1,570 
  



Highland 
  

255 
  

532 
  

288 
  



Inverclyde 
  

1,511 
  

1,127 
  

1,927 
  



Midlothian 
  

322 
  

225 
  

164 
  



Moray 
  

484 
  

200 
  

92 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

1,268 
  

1,274 
  

1,281 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

832 
  

1,128 
  

1,428 
  



Orkney 
  

78 
  

114 
  

31 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

586 
  

606 
  

625 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

414 
  

505 
  

446 
  



Shetland 
  

74 
  

75 
  

83 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

857 
  

904 
  

947 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

1,410 
  

1,161 
  

636 
  



Stirling 
  

291 
  

670 
  

303 
  



West Dunbarton 
  

1,011 
  

420 
  

342 
  



West Lothian 
  

124 
  

319 
  

382 
  



Western Isles 
  

83 
  

111 
  

16 
  



Total 
  

22,595 
  

22,660 
  

18,549

Young Offenders

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SEed102/2002 of 18 September 2002, what the annual operational cost (a) in total and (b) per place will be of the 25 additional secure accommodation places for young offenders.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SEed102/2002 of 18 September 2002, what the capital cost will be of the 25 additional secure accommodation places for young offenders.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  with regard to its news release SEed102/2002 of 18 September 2002, where each of the additional 25 secure accommodation places will be located for young offenders

Cathy Jamieson: As stated in News Release SEed 102/2002, specific plans and investment will be brought forward to reconfigure the secure estate with the creation of around 25 extra places across the country. I have asked a Scottish Executive multi-disciplinary team to assess proposals to meet requirements by both current and potential providers of secure accommodation to develop the estate. Once this process is complete, I will make a further announcement.